On the outstanding characteristics of Chinese civilization from the perspective of Spring Festival culture
"China has a long history and Chinese civilization is profound." General Secretary of the Supreme Leader emphasized at the symposium on cultural inheritance and development that there are many important elements in Chinese excellent traditional culture, which together shape the outstanding characteristics of Chinese civilization. The Spring Festival is the oldest, most important and most distinctive traditional festival of the Chinese nation. It bears the common historical memory of our nation, embodies the national spirit and traditional values, and entrusts Chinese’s emotion and pursuit. The Spring Festival culture is a vivid witness of Chinese civilization for more than 5,000 years. It has come all the way from ancient times, accompanied the Chinese nation through thousands of years of history, and deeply integrated into the cultural blood of the nation. The outstanding continuity, innovation, unity, inclusiveness and peace of Chinese civilization can be clearly demonstrated in the development history and cultural connotation of the Spring Festival.
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The Spring Festival has a long history, which can be traced back to people’s celebrations after a year’s harvest in ancient times. In Oracle Bone Inscriptions, the word "year" is the pictograph of people carrying grain and millet, and its original meaning is the harvest of crops. During the activities of ancestors celebrating and praying for a bumper harvest, La Worship, who offered sacrifices to ancestors at the end of the year, came into being. "Sui Shu Etiquette Records" records that "those who were called wax in ancient times took over the old and took over the old", indicating that La Worship contains the meaning of getting rid of the old and welcoming the new. The origin of La Worship is very early, and the Book of Rites Special Sacrifice says that "Yi’s is a wax". Yi’s family was an ancient emperor, or Yao, or Shennong. La Worship has become a grand festival at least in the Spring and Autumn Period. "Miscellaneous Notes in the Book of Rites" records that the scene in La Worship seen by Confucius’ disciple Zi Gong was "all people in a country are crazy", which shows the strong festive atmosphere at that time.
Before Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the months in which the first year of the year was held were different, with the summer as the Yin month, the Shang as the ugly month, the Zhou as the Zi month and the Qin as the Hai month. In the first year of Emperor Wudi’s reign (104 years before), taichu calendar was promulgated, and Xia Zheng was determined, that is, the first day of the first month of the summer calendar (the first day) was taken as the beginning of the year. Since then, for more than 2,000 years, except for a few brief changes, the year-end established by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty has continued.
In history, the beginning of the year is also called Yuanri, Yuanshuo, Yuanchen, New Year’s Day, Zhengdan, Zhengshuo, Xinzheng, New Year’s Day and so on. The Four People’s Moon Order of the Han Dynasty records that on the day of the anniversary, it is necessary to "bow to the wife and wife and worship the ancestors", and the children and grandchildren "serve pepper wine to their parents, saying that they are happy and happy" and also "congratulate" teachers and relatives. We can see that the custom of celebrating the New Year in later generations was generally formed more than two thousand years ago.
After the Revolution of 1911, it changed to the Gregorian calendar, taking January 1st of the Gregorian calendar as New Year’s Day, and renamed the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar as the Spring Festival. As a traditional festival of the Chinese nation, the Spring Festival has been passed down for at least 2,000 years, and its origin can be traced back to the early development stage of Chinese civilization, in which traditional customs such as offering sacrifices to ancestors, welcoming the new year and praying for blessings and their spiritual core have also been endless.
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The Spring Festival is a festival to get rid of the old and welcome the new, which essentially reflects the Chinese nation’s unremitting pursuit of "novelty" and its enterprising spirit of seeking novelty and change. The unremitting pursuit of change, development and progress is the spiritual source for the Chinese nation to create brilliant civilization for thousands of years, but it has grown stronger after suffering.
"The Book of Rites and the Order of the Month" says: "How many years will it be, and I am make a new start." The ancients in China regarded natural order as the source and norm of human order, and human production, life and political activities should follow the four-season rhythm. January Day is the beginning of a year, and the day before January Day is the end of one year, which is called "except the day" or "New Year’s Eve". "Except" means removing, which not only removes the old year, but also means expelling disasters and diseases and sweeping away all kinds of old filth.
"Rejuvenating the old and rejuvenating the new" means that people should welcome the new year with a brand-new attitude. "It’s the beginning of the New Year", and people are looking forward to a good start in the new year. On the occasion of the change of age, Chinese showed a positive attitude towards life, which included self-reflection, such as "We should change the past", "We are willing to get rid of the old and create new ideas, and we will be refreshed with the new year", and self-encouragement, such as "Try our best to make this evening, and the teenager can still boast" and "I should listen to the first cock when I get dressed in cold". All people, old and young, expect something new in the New Year.
In the Spring Festival, "everything begins", we should "only deal with new policies". "Zhou Li" recorded that "the auspicious day of the first month, the beginning of peace, Butchi is contemptuous in the country", and Sun Yirang explained: "The first month is just the year old, and when make a new start is 18 years old, it will rule the county (hanging) by removing the old cloth, so it will be a new king." Wang Anshi’s famous poem "January Day" says, "In the sound of firecrackers, one year old is removed, and the spring breeze sends warmth into Tu Su. Thousands of families always change new peaches for old symbols every day, that is, to express the image of eliminating the old and establishing the new by chanting Yuan Day.
The name of "Spring Festival" is actually an innovation based on tradition. The name of "Spring Festival" has existed for a long time in ancient times. The Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Yang Zhenchuan, says that "there is no snow in winter, and there is no rain during the Spring Festival", but this refers to beginning of spring. Today’s "Spring Festival" gives the old name a reasonable new connotation. From distant La Worship to today’s Spring Festival, from Taofu to Spring Festival couplets, from winning money to lucky money, and the gradual formation of customs such as Laba, Off-year, New Year’s Eve, Shounian, Duanwu and Yuanxiao, the Spring Festival has been advancing with the times. Today, new ways of celebrating the New Year, such as online New Year greetings, are constantly emerging, and the Spring Festival culture is still constantly innovating.
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In ancient times, the beginning of the year was also called "Zhengshuo", which was the first month and the new moon was the first day. The ancient zhengshuo has a very special significance. "Historical Records" said: "When a king changes his surname, he must be cautious at the beginning, correct the new moon, and be easy to serve." Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty confirmed Xia Zheng, although it was not easy for later generations to correct the new moon, the promulgation of the calendar was still a symbol of dynasty rule. In addition to the political and ideological unity, "great unity" is also reflected in all aspects such as etiquette and music.
The establishment of the concept of "great unification" is also closely related to the first month. The word "great unification" comes from the biography of the Spring and Autumn Ram, which holds that the first book of Spring and Autumn is "the first month of the first year of spring" to promote unification. Therefore, the beginning of a year has been given a unique meaning, and it has become the "beginning of politics and religion" to maintain the "great unity": "The husband is the king, and he was ordered to reform and teach the world. As for Shu Ren, as for mountains and rivers, as for plants and insects, it is all tied to the first month, so it is the beginning of politics and religion."
Since the Han Dynasty, all dynasties have held grand Yuan Dynasty meetings on Yuan Day. Four directions come to congratulate, and all nations come to the DPRK. "Qi and eight countries are in a state of famine, and they have been king since their humble beginnings", which fully shows the unity of the country and the recognition of all ethnic groups to the country.
On New Year’s Eve, the "family fun" of "family feasting and gathering young and old" has been the most important way to celebrate the New Year in Chinese for thousands of years, which has also made us closely link the happiness of individuals and families with the stability and prosperity of the country, from the natural love of blood and affection to the love of the country, and finally developed into the responsibility of caring for the country and the world.
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General Secretary of the Supreme Leader pointed out: "Chinese civilization has never used a single culture to replace multiculturalism, but multiculturalism has gathered into a common culture to resolve conflicts and build consensus." The Spring Festival is a common festival of the Chinese nation, and it is the result of people of all ethnic groups’ pursuit of unity, deepening political, economic and cultural ties, and continuous exchanges and blending in the long historical process.
As early as in Hanshu, there was a record that Xiongnu Khan came to the meeting to congratulate him. The Book of the New Tang Dynasty records that the Turkic Khan sent an envoy to "offer things to the first month of the DPRK" and said that "this year’s new year will offer the moon, and he is willing to offer the son of heaven with a long life". Later, the Song, Liao, Song and Jin Dynasties sent ambassadors to each other for 300 years, which made the Spring Festival a bridge for ethnic exchanges and exchanges.
The political power established by ethnic minorities in past dynasties also imitated the system of the Yuan Dynasty. In history, people "get together and have fun at the age of every year, first order the good singers and dancers to move forward for generations, and the scholars and women will follow each other, and they will sing in harmony and turn around." Tangut people "associate with each other at the age of 18, ask questions with each other, sit less with their looks, treat their teeth with contempt, and offer their lives to worship the dance." Today, various ethnic groups have formed their own unique holiday customs in the long-term interaction, enriching the cultural connotation of the Spring Festival.
The customs of different places and nationalities are varied, but at this special moment of the Spring Festival, people from all over the world gather as a whole. Although there are various customs, their spiritual core tends to be the same, and they all contain moral feelings of attaching importance to family ties and not forgetting their origins, feelings of patriotism and love for home, longing for peace and prosperity, and life ideals of praying for disaster, yearning for beauty and happiness. This is the common pursuit of Chinese sons and daughters, and it is also an important embodiment of the sense of community of the Chinese nation.
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The Spring Festival is a family reunion, joyful and peaceful festival, which inherits the concept of peace, harmony and harmony of the Chinese nation, and pursues the unity and harmony between people as well as the harmony between man and nature. The Book of Rites says that the first month is a season of "harmony between heaven and earth", "no logging, no nesting, no killing of children, insects, birds, and eggs", especially emphasizing that "you can’t weigh soldiers, saying that soldiers will be devastated by heaven" and opposing launching war in the first month.
The Spring Festival is a peaceful and happy festival, which reflects Chinese’s earnest expectation for a better life in the future. The Book of Rites, Special Sacrifice in the Suburb, records the ancient wax words: "The earth is against its house, the water belongs to its valley, the insects do nothing, and the vegetation belongs to its ze." The Book of Songs gives birth to the people also points out that one of the great significance of offering sacrifices to ancestors is to "prosper the descendants", that is, to prosper in the coming year. It can be seen that praying for harmony between man and nature and abundant crops has been an important part of the New Year since ancient times. For thousands of years, "Gigiri Lili, Pepsi is all the best" and "Prosperous year, Taiping" have become every Chinese’s beautiful vision for the coming year.
The Spring Festival is a peaceful and joyful festival. "The Book of Rites and the Moon Order" said: "The ancestors of La paid five sacrifices, and the laborers took a rest." In Miscellaneous Notes in the Book of Rites, Confucius explained the significance of celebrating the holidays at the end of the year by "relaxing one by one, the way of being civil and military", that is, after a busy year, you need to relax and have fun, and raise it to the way of governing the country in Zhou Wenwang and Zhou Wuwang. "Let’s celebrate the new year", "Stay together at night and have fun", "Let’s have fun every year, celebrate and be new", and peace and joy have been the constant theme of the Spring Festival since ancient times.
Today, the significance of the Spring Festival is not limited to China. Many countries in the world have established the Spring Festival as a legal holiday. On December 22nd, 2023, the 78th United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution by consensus, which designated the Spring Festival (China Lunar New Year) as a United Nations holiday. As the Spring Festival culture goes further to the world, the concept of peace, harmony and harmony will surely play a greater role in the process of building a community of human destiny, promoting the development and progress of human society and moving towards a better future.
(Author: Zheng Renzhao, a researcher at the New Era Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought Research Center, the supreme leader of China Academy of Social Sciences, and a researcher at the Institute of Ancient History)